{Originally posted 3/10/10, updated 3/11/15} Spring cleaning doesn't have to be taxing! Print this checklist out, review with your significant other and set a date. Rally the rest of the gang and assign tasks. With your full household engaged, you will be amazed what can get done in one afternoon. Make it fun by teaming up or setting timers and racing through tasks.

Spring Cleaning Organization

In nature, springtime is a lively time of renewal, regrowth, and new beginnings. In 19th century America it was also a perfect time for deep cleaning because it was warm enough to open doors and windows but cold enough to keep bugs at bay.

Here’s how to bring the spirit of the season indoors for your modern-day spring cleaning!

If you’ve kept up with basic cleaning on a weekly basis (and have no major clutter and household surfaces are grime-free) then your spring cleaning will be relatively straightforward. Complete a closet and cupboard purge and bag up unused items for give-away. Also complete or schedule services to clean the windows/blinds/drapes, shampoo the carpet and polish the floors. During your next weekly cleaning, scrub the oven and dust baseboards and fans.

If your starting point isn’t quite as rosy and causes your spirit to wilt, consider outsourcing a one-time deep cleaning service to get you out of the rut. It will run between $200-$400, but your peace of mind is worth more than dinners and drinks this month, that new purse or shoes, the coffees and those concert tickets. With your basics securely on track, switch your focus to de-cluttering. (If this can't be spent right now, put it firmly on the calendar and actively market the assigned day to everyone and set expectations - everyone will be expected to chip in.

If you are committed to tackling the spring cleaning in-house, download the Spring Cleaning Checklist attached.. Print it out and make it fun by teaming up and/or setting timers and racing through the tasks. Be sure to start with the general cleaning first because its best to be caught up with that before starting more projects.

Spring Cleaning Checklist

General Cleaning

Extra Cleaning

Services to Schedule

Kitchen

Windows (inside)

Pest Control

Laundry

Fans / Air Vents

Handyman / Repairs

Master Bedroom / Bathroom

Baseboards

Pressure Washing

Guest Room / Office

Garage (purge and tidy)

Carpet / Rug Cleaning

Powder Room / Foyer

Plants (liven up the garden)

Window Cleaning

Dusting

Hang Spring Wreath

Sweeping / Vacuuming

Air Filters

Mopping

Caulking / Resealing Stone

Porch / Walkway

Walls (spot clean)

Pets & Plants

Trip to Goodwill

**You may also want to schedule a time to catch up on your paper filing - I know we need to!